Obesity Rates Continue To Climb Throughout The Western World

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 17 Nov 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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In a current health news report titled "Obesity: An Ounce of Prevention," Vision.org life and health writer Alice Abler explores the history of obesity research and awareness, exploring what individuals can do to avoid becoming a future obesity statistic.

Beginning with former United States Surgeon General David Satcher's 2001 "Call to Action," one of the first public discussions of obesity statistics as a public threat; Vision.org discusses the high obesity rates that plague the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia; and ends with some of the latest health news on obesity research. Paradoxically, obesity rates are a major social issue, yet each individual holds a personal key to reversing these unhealthy statistics.

The good news is that despite the implications of current obesity rates, obesity research and obesity statistics, there are practical ways of breaking the cycle. Each of us can flex our power on an individual level by achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Vision emphasizes that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," and stresses the need to educate and prepare the next generation to take care of their health and ensure they understand the value of maintaining a healthy weight.

The role of parents cannot be overemphasized in setting an example of good health, and long-term healthy weight is a result of healthy eating and healthy activity. Vision suggests that the family unit is the ideal training ground for children, and that teaching them about health is of primary importance. The obesity rates of the future, whether disturbingly high or comfortably low, hinge upon what we model for our children today.

Vision.org's special report on obesity includes practical tips for busy families trying to stay healthy. Weight loss tips are presented along with quick and healthy meal ideas that can help families avoid the traps of fast food and prepared foods when time is short.

Obesity and obesity-related disease claims the lives of millions each year. To learn more about this preventable tragedy, see Vision.org's special report, titled "Obesity: An Ounce of Prevention."

About Vision

Vision.org is an online magazine with quarterly print issues that feature in-depth coverage of current social issues, religion and the Bible, history, family relationship topics and insights into philosophical, moral and ethical issues in society today. For a free subscription to the Vision quarterly magazine, visit their web site at http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/default.aspx

"Obesity: An Ounce of Prevention"